New Horizons
by easilyobsessed
Summary: After Lyla cheats on Jason with Tim the entire school ridicules her and she turns to Tim for support. It's football season and things are bound to get dramatic as tensions run high. TimLyla, MattJulie... other characters as well.
1. Chapter 1

Fnl Story New Horizons

Summary- After the Lyla cheats on Jason with Tim the entire school ridicules her and she turns to Tim for support. It's football season…things are bound to get dramatic as tensions run high. Tim/Lyla, Matt/Julie…other characters as well.

_Hi, this is my first FNL story and I hope you all like. It's mostly Tim/ Lyla but I'm def willing to put other couples in. Please review and tell me your thoughts, especially of this chapter since it's the first one. Please read and enjoy…_

_Disclaimer: of course I don't own fnl…_

It was Friday evening and Lyla Garrity slowly walked towards her car after a long cheer practice. The sun was starting to set and Lyla had been through a terrible day… well a terrible week of school. Ever since the entire school found out that Lyla had cheated on Jason with Tim all everyone could do was talk about her. The girls were calling her a bitch and the guys were calling her a slut. She felt like the school reject… which is basically what she was. Pretty much the only people that would talk to her were Mrs. Taylor who was always nice to everyone, and Tim but that wasn't really helping her situation.

Lyla was about to reach her car when two guys in her grade walked up to her. She had never really talked to either of them but she knew their names were Ben and Ryan.

The two stepped in front of Lyla blocking her from her path to the car.

"Lyla Garrity… We are so glad we ran into you here." Ben said smiling down at Lyla.

Lyla eyed both of them curiously. "I should get home." She said looking down and trying to walk around the two of them.

"Whoa wait a second Lyla." Ben said grabbing her wrist and pulling her back.

"We're having a party tonight… and we thought you might want to come to, you know, keep us company." Ryan said placing an arm around her.

Lyla looked at both of them, disgusted. "I don't think so." She said shaking her head and trying to walk off again but Ben held onto her wrist.

"Wait up. Jeez, I didn't think the school slut would be so uptight." Ben said his words hitting Lyla like a slap to the face.

Tim Riggins was heading to his car after football practice when he saw Lyla and two guys pushing her around.

"Please stop." Lyla pleaded trying to walk away from Ben and Ryan but they kept blocking her way.

"You know some people would say what you did to Jason was wrong, hurtful, slutty… but we understand that you have needs." Ryan said running a hand through Lyla's hair.

"Yeah we just want you to know that we are here to fulfill those needs." Ben said placing his hand on Lyla's butt.

Tim ran over to the unfolding scene and quickly pushed Ben and Ryan away from Lyla.

"Get the hell away from her." Tim yelled.

"Whoa, sorry man. We didn't know she was 'yours'" Ben said holding his hands up in an innocent gesture.

"What is wrong with you?" Tim asked them both as Lyla walked behind Tim.

"Come on Tim, you of all people should know she's a slut." Ryan said and at that

comment Tim raised his hand to punch Ryan but Lyla pulled it back.

"Tim, don't!" Lyla said. Tim resisted her holding him back for a moment but then gave up and let his hand fall to his side.

Lyla let out a breath and let his hand go.

"Come on let's go." Ryan said nudging Ben and the two quickly walked away.

"Don't ever touch her again." Tim yelled after them.

Once they were gone Lyla muttered "Thanks" to Tim and walked towards her car.

"Lyla wait up." Tim said running to catch up with her.

"I really need to get home." Lyla said getting her keys out of her backpack.

Tim grabbed her hand lightly "Please, just talk to me." He said, his eyes pleading with hers.

Lyla sighed and sat down on the hood of her car. Tim sat down close next to her.

"This has basically been the worst week of my life." Lyla said.

"I'm sorry." Tim said. He had tried to think of something more substantial to say but that was all he could come up with.

"I appreciate what you did back there, but it kind of just makes things worse." She said.

"Just trying to help" Tim said, sounding a bit defeated.

"I know I just…" Lyla didn't know where her sentence was going so she just sighed out of frustration and ran her hands through her hair before placing it in a messy bun on top of her head.

Lyla stood up and started pacing the sidewalk in front of her car.

Tim stood up too and grabbed both of her hands into his to stop her. Lyla was surprised by his sudden move but she couldn't keep her eyes away from his.

"Those guys were being jerks Lyla. You are not a slut." Tim said.

Lyla shook her head trying to keep her tears in "Yeah apparently I am, and a bitch and a whore… I mean I've basically been called every name in the book this week."

"People are just talking about you because they can, and they have nothing better to do." Tim said.

A tear rolled down Lyla's cheek "It still hurts." She said.

Tim pulled Lyla into a hug wishing this was something he could do all the time. After she gained her composure she pulled away from him.

"Thanks." She said, actually managing a small smile. "I should really get home now though."

"Yeah, me too." Tim said stepping back from Lyla.

She walked over to her car and unlocked the door.

"Lyla, if you want to talk sometime… just let me know." Tim said.

"Thanks." Lyla said getting into her car.

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Later that night Lyla changed into jeans and a long sleeved blue shirt. She drove over to Jason's house ready to try and confront him one last time. She wasn't quite ready to give up on the two of them yet, no matter how much Jason wanted to.

She knocked on his front door and waited a few seconds before Jason opened it.

It still sometimes surprised Lyla when she'd expect to look up to see Jason before realizing he was in a wheel chair.

"What do you want?" He asked her suddenly.

"Um, just to talk to you." Lyla said.

"I don't want to talk to you Lyla." Jason said starting to close the door on her.

"Wait, Jason Please." Lyla said holding the door open "I'm sorry. It was one mistake."

"It was a big mistake Lyla." Tim said in a raised voice.

Lyla was a bit taken aback at Jason yelling at her.

She struggled for words "I… I know, but you have to understand that you are all I have right now Jason." Lyla said.

"You were all I had too Lyla, but that didn't seem to matter to you when you slept with Tim." Jason said coldly.

"It was one mistake." She said again helplessly.

"Really Lyla? How many times did you sleep with him? I'm pretty sure it was more than once. And then you lied to me about it. That seems like a whole lot more than one mistake." Jason said. It was hurting him inside yelling at Lyla like this, but what else was he supposed to do. He had lost all trust in the girl he once loved.

Lyla didn't have a response. "You're right. It was more than one mistake. I screwed up Jason and I-am-sorry but I don't know what else to do." She was practically to the point of tears she was fighting so hard.

"There's nothing else you _can_ do Lyla. When you slept with Tim you ended our relationship." Jason said and Lyla started to cry at this point.

"Jason, please." Lyla said through sobs.

"Lyla, please leave." Jason said, not sure he could handle seeing her crying like this for much longer.

"Fine. Bye Jason." Lyla said turning her back to him and walking to her car.

At that moment she realized she was finally saying goodbye to her relationship with Jason.

She got in her car and wiped away some of her tears. She started driving though she didn't know where she was going. Of all places she ended up at Tim Riggin's house.

_What am I doing here? _She asked herself as she walked up to his front door.

Within seconds after she knocked Tim had answered the door.

"Lyla." He said happily surprised.

"I don't really know what I'm doing here." She said standing vulnerably at the door.

Tim smiled a little. "That's ok. Come in." He said opening the door wider for her to come in.

Lyla's breathing was kind of quick and her eyes were red and puffy.

"Are you ok?" Tim asked her.

"Yeah, of course." She lied and looked down at her feet.

Tim leaned his head down so he could look her in the eye "Lyla." He said.

She shook her head "If I tell you I'll start crying again." She said.

"I'm pretty sure that won't be a problem." Tim said leading Lyla over to the couch where he had been eating dinner and watching, what else, football. He clicked the off button on the remote to the TV.

Lyla turned her body towards him as she sat down next to him "I went over to Jason's and tried one last time to talk to him but he just yelled at me. And I finally realized that we are completely over. I mean I guess I knew that before, but tonight I just really realized it was true." Lyla said all in one breath.

Tim was quiet for a moment "You're not crying." He stated.

Lyla laughed a little at his comment "I know. It actually felt kind of good to say that finally." She said.

"Look I'm sorry Lyla. This is all my fault." Tim said.

"No it's not." Lyla said quickly.

"I shouldn't have kissed you that night we were fighting. You would still be happy with Jason if I hadn't kissed you." Tim said.

"To be honest, I'm not so sure I would be happy with Jason. Too much has changed between us. He's a different person now and even before he found out about us, it seemed like he had already moved on. And, I mean, I guess I did too. As much as I don't want to admit it, I don't think I've been in love with Jason for awhile now." Lyla said.

"Wow, this is like a night of realization for you." Tim joked lightly.

"Shut up." Lyla said hitting him playfully. "Thanks for listening Riggins." Lyla said.

"No problem Garrity." Tim said smiling over at her.

"Well I can see I interrupted some prime football and eating time so I'll just get out of your way." Lyla said standing up but Tim grabbed her hand to stop her and stood up a little closer to her than he had meant to. Their bodies were only a couple inches apart.

Without thinking Lyla immediately grabbed Tim's face and pressed her lips against his. Tim moved his hands and rested them on her hips but then pulled away after a couple seconds.

"We shouldn't." He said, wondering why the hell these words were coming out of his mouth. He was turning down making out with Lyla.

"Oh my god, I am a slut" Lyla said placing her hands on her head and stepping away from Tim.

"Lyla." Tim said giving her a look that said 'you know you're not a slut'.

"Why did I do that?" She asked aloud.

"I mean I am pretty irresistible." Tim joked.

Lyla shook her head but couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face "That can't happen. I can't just be kissing you when I feel like it." She said.

"Why not?" He asked her.

"Because it's wrong on so many levels. I shouldn't even be here right now. I can't believe I just kissed you, what is wrong with me?" She said frantically. Tim couldn't help but smile at her.

"I guess you're right." Tim said. He knew he shouldn't take advantage of Lyla when she was hurt and confused, not to mention that would just piss everyone off again.

"I should go." She said.

"You can still talk to me anytime." Tim said, "You know, just as friends." He added.

Lyla smiled at him "Goodbye." She said walking to the door.

"Later Garrity" Tim said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.

Saturday morning Lyla woke to her mother knocking on her bedroom door.

"Lyla, wake up, someone's at the door for you." She said before walking away.

Lyla shifted in her bed and moaned. It was almost 12:00, and she never normally slept this late. She quickly got out of bed and put on a grey sweater over her tank top. She was wearing pink shorts and her hair was loosely arranged about her head. She walked down stairs and to the front door where Tim was standing outside.

"Tim, you can come inside." Lyla said smiling when she saw him.

"I felt kind of weird, figured I'd just wait out here." He said. Lyla looked like she had just woken up, but she looked hot.

"Well come in, we can go to my room." Lyla said because she saw her younger siblings watching every move Tim and her made.

"Ok." He said following Lyla up the stairs and into her room. He had only been in her room once but he didn't really remember it too well because him and Lyla had basically just hooked up in it.

Lyla closed the door behind them.

"Sorry that I woke you up." Tim said.

"I normally don't sleep this late, I guess I was just really tired after this week of school." Lyla said sitting down on her bed.

"So what's up?" She asked him.

"Well Coach Taylor invited me over for dinner tonight, and I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go with me." Tim said.

Lyla thought about this for a moment "You want me to go to dinner with you… at coach Taylor's house?" Lyla asked for reassurance.

"Well I mean you said Mrs. Taylor is nice to you and, it would make it a little less awkward for me." Tim said.

"Well who would've thought Tim Riggins was scared of a little awkward dinner with his coach and his family." Lyla teased.

"Don't be mean Lyla." Tim said pushing her a little as he sat down next to her on the bed.

Lyla started laughing.

"Wow I haven't heard you laugh in a really long time." Tim said. He loved the sound of her laugh.

"That's cause I haven't." Lyla said.

"So what do you say? Are you coming tonight?" Tim asked.

Lyla kept her eyes locked on his "are you sure its ok with them?" She asked.

"I asked before I came over here." Tim said, "Besides, who wouldn't like your company?"

"Oh I can think of a lot of people who would hate my company." Lyla said.

"God Lyla, your so hard on yourself." Tim said.

"Can't help it… but I will go with you tonight." Lyla said.

"Ok… good. Well I'll pick you up around 6:30 then." Tim said standing up.

"Sure." Lyla said.

"Alright, bye then." Tim said waving a little and walking out of Lyla's room. Once he left Lyla fell backwards onto her bed and covered her face with a pillow. She couldn't keep Tim off of her mind lately, and she knew she shouldn't be having these feelings but she couldn't stop them from coming.

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"Honey, could you please set the table?" Tami Taylor asked her husband Eric.

She was in the kitchen finishing making dinner.

"Darlin I would, but I'm just trying to pick out a shirt right now." Eric said from their bedroom.

Tami rolled her eyes "I thought you were wearing the blue one." She said.

"There are two blue ones." He said.

"Oh my god, I will set the table." Julie said getting up from the couch and turning the TV off.

"Thank you Julie, your father is apparently five years old tonight." Tami said yelling the five-year-old part so Eric would definitely hear her.

A couple seconds later Eric was in the kitchen "I appreciate that sweetie." He said

Sarcastically.

"I know." Tami said smiling at him.

"You guys are so sarcastic." Julie said grabbing five glasses from the cabinet.

"Well honey, that's just the way we are." Tami said shrugging her shoulders innocently at her daughter.

"Would it be alright if I went out with Matt after dinner tonight?" Julie said avoiding eye contact as she asked the question. She had only been on one date with Matt, and her parents… well really her dad was a nervous wreck about the two of them being together.

Eric and his wife exchanged glances and Tami raised her eyebrows as if to say it's all right with me if it is with you.

"I think that would be fine." Eric said "as long as your back by eleven" he added.

Julie turned around and smiled at them "Great, I'll go call him." She said skipping off just as there was a knock at the door.

Both Tami and Eric didn't move. They were having a standoff for who would have to go answer the door.

Tami hit her husband on the shoulder "I am cooking right now, will you please go greet our guests? My goodness." She said exasperated at her husband's laziness.

"Alright, ok. No need for violence." He said walking off to answer the door.

He opened it to see Tim and Lyla.

"Hello, come on in." He said.

"Hi Mr. Taylor." Lyla said sweetly following Tim in.

"You can call me Coach Taylor… Mr. makes me feel old." He joked.

"Oh ok, got it coach." Lyla said trying it out.

"Tim and Lyla, you just come right in and take a seat." Tami said walking in the hall to greet them.

"Hi Mrs. Taylor." Lyla and Tim said in unison.

"Dinner will be ready soon." Tami said walking back to the kitchen.

"I hope it's alright that I'm intruding on this dinner." Lyla said.

"Oh it is perfectly fine, you are welcome anytime darling." Tami said. She knew all the ridicule Lyla was facing at school and felt really bad for the girl.

"Told you it was fine." Tim whispered in her ear, his warm breath hitting Lyla and giving her chills.

"Can my husband get you guys something to drink?" Tami offered smiling at Eric.

"Water's fine." Lyla said.

"Yeah." Tim said after her.

"Coming up." Eric said grabbing two glasses from the table and filling them with ice and water.

Tim and Lyla sat down next to each other at the dinner table.

"Do you need any help Mrs. Taylor?" Lyla asked her.

"No, I'm just finishing up actually." Tami said smiling generously at Lyla.

Tim looked over at Lyla who was wearing dark jeans and a long floral halter-top. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and she looked stunning as usual.

"Well Tim, I hope your ready for the rest of football season because it's going to be tough." Eric said.

"Yes sir, I am." He said.

Lyla smiled over at him. Tim Riggins kind of had the reputation of being an ass, but whenever she was around him, he was only nice and caring to her.

"And Lyla, your head of the squad right?" Tami asked her.

"Oh yes… but I might not be for long." Lyla said casually.

"What are you talking about?" Tim asked her.

"Oh it's no big deal, there's just a lot of girls that want to be head of the team and I think they'd be better than me." Lyla said quietly.

"Well, honey, I don't think that's true. I've seen you cheer at games and I think you should stay captain." Tami said, sensing that there was a little more to this cheerleading situation than Lyla was telling them.

"Thanks." Lyla said, "We'll see."

"Julie, dinner's ready." Tami yelled from the kitchen.

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After dinner Julie headed over to Matt Saracen's house. She knocked on the door and

could hear Matt's grandma say that someone was knocking, from inside.

Matt opened the door and smiled as soon as he saw Julie.

"Hey." He said.

"Hi." She said back leaning up and giving Matt a short kiss. "Ready to go?" She asked.

They were going to the movies that night.

"Um…" Matt looked back at his grandma who was happily watching the TV. He took Julie's hand and led her outside closing the front door behind him.

"Is everything ok?" She asked looking at him with worried eyes.

"Yeah, yeah it's fine. I just… Landry was gonna watch my um, my grandma tonight but he just called and said he couldn't so… I mean… I can't really leave her." Matt said.

"Oh." Julie said nodding her head "well that's ok. I hear she likes scrabble. Maybe we could play a game." Julie suggested.

Matt looked at Julie surprised "You… You'd be ok with hanging out with my grandma tonight?" he asked her.

Julie shrugged "Sure, I don't mind." She said.

"Ok, um.. Yeah ok let's go in then." Matt said.

Julie started to walk inside but Matt pulled her back and wrapped his arms loosely around her waist. The two were silent for a moment before he leaned down and kissed her. They broke apart momentarily but then Julie pulled Matt's face back to hers and kissed him again, this time with a bit more urgency than the last.

"Alright, well now that that's done, let's go play some scrabble." Julie said happily.

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Lyla and Tim left Coach Taylor's house at around 9:00 that night and it was dark when they got in the car to drive home. But Lyla noticed Tim wasn't driving her to her house.

"Tim… where are we going?" She asked suspiciously.

"Nowhere special." Tim said pulling his car into their high school's parking lot.

"What are we breaking in or something?" Lyla asked him.

"No, we're going to the football field." Tim said getting out of the car.

Lyla got out also "What if I want to go home?" She asked him.

"Do you?" he asked her.

Lyla shrugged, just to keep Tim on his toes. "I guess not." She said finally.

"Alright then, come on." Tim said tilting his head towards the field.

Lyla and Tim got to the field and started walking around the track.

"So tell me the real reason why you might not stay head cheerleader." Tim said looking over at her.

Lyla avoided eye contact with him "I told you already at dinner." Lyla said.

"You're a really bad liar Garrity." Tim said.

Lyla chuckled a little "Good to know." She said.

"So are you gonna tell me or what?" Tim asked her.

"Is it really so hard to figure out? Pretty much every girl on the squad is begging me to quit. And as if that weren't enough they're all talking about me behind my back. Girls I thought were my friends even." Lyla said slipping her hands into her jean pockets.

"That sucks Lyla." Tim said bluntly.

"Yeah… pretty much…listen Tim I'm getting really cold so…" She started.

"I have an idea that could warm us up." Tim said.

Lyla looked at him incredulously.

"Not that Lyla." Tim said.

"Then what?" She asked him.

"Lets play some football." He said.

"Oh… No. I can't throw a football to save my life." Lyla said.

"You're telling me Jason never taught you how to throw a football?" Tim asked her.

Lyla shrugged "Not really no." Lyla said.

"Alright, come on." Tim said holding out his hand for her.

"What?" She asked him.

"Just come on." He said.

Lyla placed her hand in his and Tim ran them over to the middle of the field where there was a stray football on the ground.

"Alright, now take the ball in your hands." Tim said handing her the ball.

Lyla did as she was instructed.

"Stand kind of sideways with you're right foot…"

"What are you talking about?" she asked him placing her feet in different ways and none seemed to be right.

Tim laughed aloud at her.

"Don't laugh at me." She said pouting, "It's your fault you're a bad teacher."

"Ok here, I'll show you." Tim said walking behind her.

Lyla slipped her flip-flops off and kicked them to the side of the field.

Tim placed his hands on Lyla's waist lightly and turned her body to the correct position.

"Now..." Tim said softly whispering in her ear. He lightly ran his hand down her arm and onto her hand that held the football. "You raise you arm up and back like this." He said raising it for her.

"Ok." She said smiling even though he could see. Tim slipped his other arm around Lyla's waist and gently twisted her body back a little.

"And then, you're just gonna throw the ball… shifting your weight. And let the ball slip from your fingers and it will spin on it's own." Tim said letting her hand go as she stepped forward and threw the ball.

"Not bad." Tim said "you have to work on the spin but, I see a career in football for you miss Garrity." Tim joked.

Lyla laughed and noticed that Tim's arm was still wrapped around her waist. She didn't want to move but she knew she should. She took in a breath and stepped away from Tim.

"Ok so, teach my like a play or something." She said running over and picking up the football.

"Well you kind of need a few more people to make a play." Tim said running his hands through his hair.

"Well make one up that we can do." Lyla said.

"Ok, you're going to run down field and I'll pass you the ball and then your job is to make a touchdown." Tim said.

"So I just have to run to the end zone then?" She asked him.

"Yeah but you have to get past me." Tim said.

"Alright, you're on." Lyla said smiling at him. She tossed him the football.

"Ok start running." He said.

Lyla started to run at a regular pace down the field and Tim threw her the ball, which she almost didn't catch but it ended up in her hands somehow. Tim sprinted ahead of her.

"You're going down Riggins." Lyla said starting to run towards him.

"Not a chance Garrity." Tim said trying to figure out which way she'd run to.

Lyla faked to the right and then tried to sprint to the left of Tim but he grabbed her around the waist and gently tackled her to the ground as she screamed.

"Oh and Garrity is down at the 20 yard line!" Tim yelled.

Lyla was laughing uncontrollably.

"Not fair." She said while laughing.

Tim joined in on the laughing and shifted his position on top of Lyla. His arms were on either side of her and he held his body close over hers.

The two stopped laughing and were caught breathless eyes locked on each other.

Lyla slightly parted her lips and searched Tim's eyes with her own.

Tim leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips and then pulled away, to see if she was ok with it.

Lyla was still out of breath lying under Tim. She wasn't saying or doing anything.

"Lyla…" Tim pleaded.

Lyla grabbed Tim's face and brought it close to hers and she kissed him, slipping her tongue into his mouth. Tim deepened the kiss and turned over so that Lyla was lying on top of him. He slipped his hands under her shirt and held onto the bare skin by her waist.

Lyla pulled away for a second.

"It's ok." Tim said.

Lyla nodded and kissed him again running her hands through his hair.

"Well well, what do we have here?" A voice that could only be recognized as Tyra's asked.

Lyla and Tim immediately broke apart and stood up on the field.

"Tyra… what are you doing here?" Tim asked her.

"Um I think the real question is what are you doing here? With her?" Tyra asked shooting Lyla a cold look.

"We're just… I don't know." Tim said.

"You know, I'd expect this from you Tim… but Lyla… I thought after you saw how much you hurt Jason you wouldn't do this again. Guess I was wrong. You really are a bitch." Tyra said.

"Tyra chill out ok." Tim said.

"No Tim, she's right." Lyla said nodding her head before quickly walking off the field.

"Why are you messing around with her Tim?" Tyra asked him.

"Just leave her alone." Tim said walking past Tyra coldly and running to catch up with Lyla.

He got back to his car and she was leaning against the passenger door.

"I'm sorry about Tyra." Tim said walking over to Lyla who was stifling sobs.

"She's right though." Lyla said.

"No, Lyla she's not." Tim said attempting to pull Lyla into a hug but she pushed him away.

"Stop Tim. We can't do this. I can't do that to Jason even if I'm not in a relationship with him. I'd really just like to go home." Lyla said.

"Ok… fine." Tim said walking around to his side of the car.

Lyla watched him get in and then she did the same. She wished she was still on the field making out with him… but truth was it was probably better that she wasn't.

_There you have it… the first chapter. Please review and tell me if you want more Julie/matt, coach/Tami, Tyra with somebody maybe Jason or Landry. I don't know, but I would love feedback. Ill try to update within a week or so. Thanks, bye!_


	2. Just Be With Me

_I can't believe its been so long since I updated, but I'm done with fall term senior year which was the most stressful, so now I can update more and I'm starting a new FNL story set in season too with more tyla but a lot of other characters also. Thanks for the reviews!!!!!I really will try to update soon!! Read and enjoy…_

Monday after school Lyla and the rest of the cheerleading squad were doing stretches outside on the track while the football team was endlessly running sprints.

One of the cheerleaders named Claire sat down on the track in a huddle with the rest of the cheerleaders except for Lyla who was a considerable distance away from all of them.

They're choice, not hers.

"So I heard that Lyla hooked up with Tim Riggins… Saturday night… on the football field." Claire gossiped to the other girls loud enough so that Lyla could definitely hear her… which she definitely did.

Lyla's jaw dropped open and she sat up from her stretch to listen in on the conversation.

"God what a bitch! I would never do that to Jason, even if Tim is freaking hot." Another girl named Sarah said.

Lyla rolled her eyes and stood up to walk over to the girls.

"I can hear everything you guys are saying about me just so you know." Lyla said placing her hands on her hips.

"Well we don't really care… just so you know." Claire said mocking her words.

"Who told you about me and Tim?" Lyla asked Claire.

"So you admit it's true." Sarah said quickly causing some of the other girls to giggle.

"No… I just want to know who told you." Lyla said quietly. She was trying to stand up for herself but it wasn't working out so well.

Claire looked up at Lyla and smiled while shrugging her shoulders innocently.

Lyla nodded her head "good answer." She said sarcastically as she walked off the track and onto the field to where the water table was for the football players.

"Aw look she's gonna go cry to Tim now." Claire said and the whole squad exploded with cruel laughter.

Lyla tried to ignore them as she waited at the water table, but tears were starting to form in her eyes.

The football players finished their sprints and ran over to the table nearly knocking it over, as if this was the last water on earth.

"Tim can I talk to you?" Lyla's shaky voice asked him. She hadn't talked to him since Saturday night when he had dropped her off after the little making out on the field incident.

Tim nodded his head; out of breath and panting he grabbed a glass of water and followed Lyla a few good feet away from the table and the rest of the guys.

Lyla stepped closer to Tim "Did you tell people we hooked up this weekend?"

Tim caught his breath and took a large gulp of water nearly finishing off his paper cup.

"No" He answered.

"Must've been Tyra then." Lyla said shaking her head in disbelief and starting to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Tim asked her.

"I don't know, but I just can't be here right now." She said walking off the field and towards the gym.

Lyla got in the girls locker room and saw Julie Taylor standing at the mirror putting her hair up into a ponytail.

"Hey Julie." Lyla said feeling a little awkward because the first time she had ever talked to Julie was at dinner on Saturday night, but she seemed nice and Lyla could use all the nice people in her life right now that she could get.

"Oh hey Lyla." Julie said, kind of surprised that Lyla was talking to her.

"Yeah, you probably don't want to talk to me, being the school slut and all." Lyla said.

"No, it's not that." Julie said quickly "I just have to get to dance practice is all."

"Oh right, sorry." Lyla said feeling stupid now.

"But if it makes a difference I don't think you're a slut." Julie said.

Lyla smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

Julie nodded and walked out of the locker room.

All the sudden a flood of feelings hit Lyla and she felt like she was going to cry, so she took in a couple of deep breaths and knew there was no way she could go back to practice today.

Lyla left the locker room and walked down one of the school's hallways to grab her backpack and a book from her locker when she ran head on into Tyra.

"Jesus, watch where you're going." Tyra said.

"Tyra, what gives you the right to go around telling people that I hooked up with Tim on Saturday night?" Lyla asked immediately.

"What gives you the right to act all holier than thou when in reality you're the biggest slut in school." Tyra retorted, avoiding answering the question.

"I've only slept with two guys my entire life Tyra. Can you say the same?" Lyla asked her, not believing these words were coming out of her mouth. She usually wasn't very good at fighting.

"No actually I can't. But at least I didn't cheat on my boyfriend with his best friend, while he was lying in a hospital bed trying to live with the fact that he'll Never Be Able To Walk Again!" Tyra yelled.

"Oh shut up. You have no idea how much I care about Jason." Lyla yelled back.

Tyra was silent for a moment, surprised that Lyla had actually yelled at her.

"Well obviously not enough to be faithful to him." Tyra said up in Lyla's face before walking past her and hitting her shoulder as she did.

"Are you like in love with Jason or something? I mean I'm just trying to figure out why you're so mad at me." Lyla said.

Tyra laughed a little at the whole situation "No, I'm not in love with Jason. I was in love with Tim, at one point. Guess that was the biggest mistake of my life though." Tyra said giving Lyla one last look before walking away.

Lyla grabbed the book she needed out of her locker and went home so she wouldn't burst into tears in the middle of the hallway.

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"Tim! What the hell are you doing out there?" Coach Taylor yelled at Tim.

It was mid-practice and Eric had pulled Tim to the side to yell at him in that "football coach" way.

"I don't know." Tim said through heavy breathing.

"Son, we have a big game this Friday and you're stumbling around the field like an idiot." Eric said.

Tim didn't have anything to say back so he just stood there and took his coach's yelling.

"Tell you what, you leave practice right now because you're not getting anything done out there today." Eric said finally cooling off a little.

"Coach…" Tim started.

"You owe me have a practice Now go." Eric said, not so much in a harsh way but it definitely made Tim realize he shouldn't argue.

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Lyla sat in her living room flipping through the channels on TV, but she wasn't really watching anything. It didn't really matter though; all she was trying to do was keep her mind off of everything that was wrong with her life at the moment.

She heard a knock at the door and slowly got up to answer it, wondering who it could be since both of her parents weren't home.

She opened the door to see a slightly sweaty Tim standing there.

"Tim what are you doing here?" Lyla asked him, while opening the door wider, a gesture for him to come inside which he did. "Shouldn't you be at practice?" Her eyes were squinted with confusion.

"Um… yeah. Coach kicked me out." Tim said.

"Did you do something?" she asked him.

Tim tried to search for words in his head "No… I just… look can we go to your room or something?" He asked.

Lyla nodded her head yes and Tim followed her up the stairs to her bedroom.

Once they were safely inside Tim shut the door and immediately walked over to Lyla pulling her face towards his and he kissed her with urgency. Lyla was close to giving in to the kiss but at the last second she pushed Tim away from her.

"What are you doing?" She asked him.

"Lyla." Tim started stepping closer to her "I know you don't think we should be together and I tried Lyla, I did, but I just can't stop thinking about you." Tim said.

"Tim." Lyla interjected, but Tim kept going.

"That's why I got kicked out of practice today. Because I was thinking about you." Tim said stopping to see Lyla's reaction to all of this sudden heart spilling coming from him.

Lyla remained silent. "Please say something" Tim said.

"I can't." Lyla said almost inaudibly.

Tim sighed out of frustration and backed away from Lyla a little but "Are you still in love with Jason or something?"

Lyla looked up at him immediately "No!" She said.

Tim cupped Lyla's face into his hands and brought it close to his own so she was forced to look at him.

"Then why won't you be with me?" he asked her, his voice low and husky.

"I can't explain it… I just…"Lyla's sentence trailed off as it dawned on her that she'd pretty much already hit rock bottom socially. Would it really hurt to have something that she wanted?

Suddenly she wrapped her arms around Tim's neck and kissed him. Their bodies seemed to melt into one, as their kisses got hotter.

Tim walked Lyla over to her bed where he laid her down gently and got on top of her.

Lyla lifted his grey T-shirt over his head and ran her hands up his chest. Tim slowly lifted Lyla's shirt over her head and threw it to the side. His skin was warm as it hit Lyla's bare stomach. Tim trailed kisses down her neck and collarbone as Lyla undid his belt buckle.

Lyla heard the front door open and close and she immediately pushed Tim off of her.

"Oh my god, my dad's home." Lyla said frantically running around the room looking for her shirt. Tim laughed softly at her panic.

"He'll kill you if he finds you in here. Get you're shirt on." Lyla whispered urgently.

Tim slipped his shirt on casually "Looking for this?" he asked Lyla holding up her shirt in his hand.

"Yes." She said grabbing it from him but he pulled her towards him and kissed her. Lyla kissed him back for a second but then broke away.

"Stop it." She said putting her shirt on, not able to help the smile that spread across her face.

Tim stood up "I'll just leave and say I was getting notes from class." Tim said.

"Can I come over tonight?" Lyla asked him.

Tim smiled like these were the greatest words he could ever hear "Of course, see you later." He said kissing her again before walking out of her room leaving Lyla flushed and grinning happily.

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After football practice Matt Saracen took a quick shower and met Julie outside the front of the school so that he could give her a ride home.

"Hey." Julie said waving and smiling as she saw Matt walking towards her.

"Hi." Matt said giving her a short kiss when he reached her.

"Mmm.. Thank you." Julie said smiling.

"Sorry…if I… you know smell or whatever. I, I didn't take a very long shower." Matt said stuttering.

Julie laughed aloud "That's fine, and for the record you don't smell."

"Oh, um, ok good. How was dance today?" He asked her wrapping one arm around her waist as the two of them walked towards his car.

"Great. We started a new dance today and it totally kicks ass." Julie said.

"Wow… 'Kicks ass' must be pretty cool then." Matt said smiling.

"Yeah, well….and how as football?" Julie asked him.

"Ok. I just… I don't know. I feel a lot of pressure because Friday is a really big game and I don't want to screw things up for everyone. You know the day after a football game you screw up is like hell. Everyone in town hates you. It's a lot of pressure." Matt said.

"Aw" Julie said smiling up at him and grabbing his hand that was around her waist with her own "I could never hate you. I don't really buy into that whole football thing though."

"Even though your dad's the coach?" Matt asked her.

"Especially _because _my dad's the coach." She said lightly.

Matt stopped walking for a second when the got to his car. "You're coming to the game Friday right?" He asked her.

Julie sat down on the hood of his car "Of course." She said motioning for him to sit down next to her.

Matt took a seat next to her on the hood of the car.

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At around eight that night Lyla made her way over to Tim's house, hoping his brother wouldn't be there so that they could spend some time alone… finally.

When she arrived only Tim's truck was there and Lyla parked next to it. She knocked on his front door and it was quickly answered by a shirtless Tim.

"Hi." Lyla said a little shyly.

"Hey." Tim said, a smile immediately spreading across his face. He led Lyla into the house and shut the door behind her.

Lyla felt a little awkward and not sure of what to say next.

"Do you want to watch TV… or are you hungry?" Tim asked her when she didn't say anything.

"Is your brother here?" She asked him, ignoring his questions.

Tim shook his head no.

Lyla smiled a bit her lip as she tentatively moved closer to Tim.

"Good." She said running her hands up Tim's bare chest.

Tim wrapped his arms around Lyla's waist and pulled her closer to him and brushed a stand of hair out of her face before kissing her.

Lyla grabbed Tim's face with her hands and deepened the kiss. Tim walked the two of them towards the couch and slowly put Lyla onto it before getting on top of her.

Lyla was thinking about how she hadn't meant to immediately start making out with Tim, but whenever she was around him she just couldn't resist him. And the fact that he had offered her food made him ten times cuter.

Tim was about to lift Lyla's shirt over her head when the front door opened and what sounded like a hundred people started pouring into the house along with Tim's brother.

Tim immediately got off of Lyla, who immediately pulled her shirt back down and got off of Tim's couch.

What looked like thirty or so people were pouring into Tim's house… all from Tim and Lyla's high school.

"What the hell…" Tim said to himself.

Lyla was just hoping not many people saw her and Tim making out when they walked in.

"What the hell is going on here?" Tim asked his older brother Billy as he walked in with beer in hand.

"Just having a little Monday night party… you know kick start the week." Billy said smiling.

"I was kind of in the middle of something… you can't just throw a party whenever you want to." Tim said with a raised voice.

"Whoa, Tim, relax. Have a beer. Get a girl and have some fun. What's wrong with you tonight?" he asked him.

Tim sighed and continued to argue with his brother meanwhile Claire and Sarah; Lyla's fellow cheerleaders approached her.

"Oh, Lyla, so glad we ran into you here." Claire said, obviously already a little bit wasted.

"What are you talking about?' Lyla asked them, searching the room for Tim, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Well we just thought we should tell you now rather than later. Since you just decided to walk out on practice today we've decided that as of now you're suspended from the squad." Sarah said smiling cruelly.

A look of shock spread across Lyla's face.

"But I'm sure we'll see you at the big game this Friday anyways. I mean I know you'll be there to support your new boyfriend Tim." Claire said.

"And probably half the other guys on the team." Sarah added under her breath.

Lyla just shook her head in disbelief at how mean these girls were being. She walked away before she gave them the pleasure of seeing her cry. She made her way into Tim's room and shut the door behind her.

Tim was in mid-argument with his brother when he saw Lyla walk off into his room. He immediately followed after her.

When he got inside Lyla was leaning against one of his walls with her head buried in her hands.

"Lyla?' he asked tentatively.

She looked up surprised to see him there. She wiped away some of the tears from her cheeks.

She almost laughed a little at how pitiful she must've looked.

"Are you ok?" he asked her.

Lyla shook her head and Tim walked over to her taking her hands into his.

"I just can't handle these people anymore. Claire and Sarah just told me I'm suspended from the cheerleading team for who knows how long just because I walked out on practice today." Lyla said.

"They're bitches Lyla." Tim said pushing a stand of hair behind her ear and brushing her cheek lightly with his thumb.

"I know" Lyla said leaning her head into his touch "But it still hurts for them to call me a slut and laugh at me..._all _the time."

"But they're wrong. You're amazing Lyla." Tim said leaning his face in closer to hers and their breath intermingled.

Lyla nodded her head up at Tim. Tim leaned down and lightly pressed his lips against hers cupping her face with his hands. Lyla slid her hands up and rested them on his chest but then broke away from this kiss momentarily.

"Tim I can't." Lyla whispered.

Their faces were just barely parted and their lips brushed against each other when they spoke.

"Lyla… just be with me." Tim whispered back, his voice low and urgent.

Lyla rested there in silence for another moment before slipping away from him.

"I just can't right now… I just…" Lyla couldn't say anymore for fear she would cry so she quickly left Tim's room.

Tim ran his hands through his longish brown hair and then stuck them into his pockets before walking back into the party.

Lyla got into her car as quickly as she could and rested her hands on the steering wheel.

She felt like cheerleading was the only real thing she had left and now it was gone. And worse than that she had just walked out on Tim who was most likely going to hook up with some random girl by the end of the night… life couldn't get much worse in her opinion.

Back at the party Tim found a bottle of beer and sat down outside on the front steps of his house. He had no idea how it had happened, but he cared so much for Lyla… and he just couldn't give up on her no matter how much she pushed him away.

_Please review if you can. I'll update soon but the other story will probs be better than this one haha, just cause this one isn't organized very well… anyways. Thanks._


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